Empirical analysis of the economic contribution of construction sector in turkey to growth and employment

Construction sector covers the activities related to construction of capital investments in terms of the inputs used and the employment created and one of the most powerful economic sectors. Construction sector has input-output relation with different sectors and important roles in the economies of the countries. Construction sector constitutes 10.7% of GDP for the European Union with 2.9 million companies, employment of 16.4 million people and business volume worth of 1.3 billion Euros.Restructuring of the country in republican period highlighted construction sector in Turkey. The sector which have been within the development objectives of the country in the period of planned development, have become one of the largest sectors the country by ensuring production of construction materials and machinery, standardization in the sector, development of international contracting services and increasing trained workforce.Turkish construction sector which is influential on GDP, investment and employment, holds approximately 5% of the country, about 30% of the GDP with two hundred sectors it affected and one-third of the investment and in this state it has an important place for Turkish economy.The economic crisis affecting the world in 2008 reflected its effects on employment evidently and unemployment rates are in a huge increase lately. The fact that approximately 1.250.000 people are employed in the construction sector in Turkey clearly shows the damage the construction sector gets in the crisis period will do on the employment of the country. In this context, identification of the problems of the sector and development of the sector will have positive effects on the economy of Turkey directly and indirectly.